“82 The New 13?”

82? What significance does this number play? Why would anyone write about the number 82 being significant. In no culture in the world is 82 thought of as good or bad. It is just another number. Well maybe it is a bad omen for Americans.

Yesterday, Andy Roddick was upset at Wimbledon by a little known Taiwanese player named Yen-Hsun Lu. Today Venus Williams, who has been to 8 of the last 10 finals at Wimbledon was defeated by

Tsvetana Pironkova, the 82nd ranked player in the world, handily defeated Venus Williams at Wimbledon today.

. Want to know what Lu and the Bulgarian Pironkova have in common? They are both ranked 82nd in the world!

Two players ranked 82nd in the world defeated two Americans ranked in the top 10. What is going on? Is this a coincidence or does it have significance? Most likely a coincidence, but lets look into the number 82. The number 82 is a happy number. There is a whole complex process on how one knows what is a happy number. But the point is, numbers are either happy or sad (if you want to know how this is derived go to(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_number). So maybe the number 82 is not so happy for Americans.

1982 highlights:

– If you are a Cincinnatian, you do not like the number 82 because in the year 1982, Joe Montana and the 49ers broke the heart of all Bengals fans, winning the Super Bowl in dramatic comeback fashion.

– If you are an NFL fan, you do not like the number 82, because in 1982, the NFL had its first strike ever which lasted 57 days.

– For the MLB fans out there, in 1982, the All Star Game was played outside of American soil for the first time in Montreal. This could be a good or bad thing.

– For all my fans of film, Rocky III came out in 1982. And though this was a great movie, Mick, Rocky’s beloved trainer dies. Also Rocky struggles to cope with the civilized lifestyle and appears to have lost his moxy.

– Lastly, in 1982, the DOW sank to a new low for the time and America was engulfed in a deep recession.

So you decide for yourself if the number 82 is bad luck. Either way, two players ranked 82nd in the world have knocked off two top 10 ranked Americans at the premier event that tennis has to offer.